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Never Underestimate the Power of a Few Small Blessings!
Shabbat Parashat Ki Tavo
August 24, 2013 – 18 Elul 5773

Never Underestimate the Power of a Few Small Blessings!

It is so easy to complain about what is missing in our lives.  It is so easy to enumerate all the things that we wish were different in our society.  And, in truth, it is important for us to be able to identify our own failings, to name our shortcomings, and to acknowledge the failings of our society as a whole.  How else could we ever hope to improve the situation?

The Season of Repentence, which intensifies as we go through the Jewish month of Elul, challenges us to do just that – to identify shortcomings and to resolve to improve the situation in the coming year.

In aid of this mission, the lesson of Ki Tavo, our weekly Torah portion, is simple.

No matter how long the list of shortcomings, challenges, and even curses in our own lives and in our surroundings – there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

May we never lose sight of the blessings, and of the potential for blessing, that may at times be obscured by difficulties we encounter in life.

May we never underestimate the power of a few small blessings to lift up our spirits – to enable us to see beyond our shortcomings – and to help us focus on what we can do to make this world a better world for ourselves and for those around us.

May we be blessed with the light of hope and of spiritual renewal as we recall our convenant with God, the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt, and the promise of the eventual completion of the ongoing redemptive process for us, for all of Israel, and for all people everywhere.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Gilah Dror